Lions Gate Lifts US Rights to “The Bank Job”; Teams with Twisted on “Repo!”

Lionsgate has acquired U.S. rights to Roger Donaldson‘s “sexy thriller” “Baker Street” aka “The Bank Job,” the company’s president of theatrical films Tom Ortenberg and Peter Block, president of acquisitions and co-productions jointly announced Thursday. Block, Eda Kowan, vice president of acquisitions and Wendy Jaffe, SVP legal and business affairs, acquisitions negotiated the deal on behalf of Lionsgate, while Relativity Media‘s Aaron Michiel represented the filmmakers. The film is currently in production in the U.K., with principal photography due to wrap in March. “‘The Bank Job’ is an incredible story inspired by a daring robbery that took place in London in 1971,” said Ortenberg in a statement. “The crime was never solved, and ‘The Bank Job’ poses a startling reason for that, one that has its origins in very high places.  A film like this comes along all too rarely, and we’re thrilled to give it a home at Lionsgate.” Arclight is the international sales agent for the film.

In other Lionsgate news, the company announced its next collaboration with “Saw” partner Twisted Pictures. Both will team on Darren Lynn Bousman‘s feature “Repo! The Genetic Opera!” which Bousman will direct from an original story by co-composers and screenwriters Terrence Zdunich and Darren Smith. Bousman, the director of “Saw II” and “Saw III,” will reunite with his previous collaborators on the “Saw” franchise, the Twisted Pictures team of Mark Burg and Oren Koules, who will produce the film. The worldwide acquisition was brought to Lionsgate by Stephanie Denton, Lionsgate president of international sales, Peter Block and Jason Constantine, EVP, acquisitions. Lionsgate will distribute “Repo!” in the United States and the U.K. and will handle international sales in the rest of the world. The company plans to unveil Bousman’s promo to international buyers at a European Film Market event in Berlin. [Brian Brooks]

Features » SXSW iPOP Features » Girl Talk Doc Features » Baumbach

posted on February 8, 2007 |Share